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Marissa Makar

UWRT 1102-058
4/6/15
Thesis Paper
Dreams are a part of everyones everyday lives, its hard to avoid thinking about
what they could have possibly meant in some situations. This is what helped me come up
with my inquiry question, What is the driving force behind our dreams? I did not
narrow it down to a certain type of theory because there are so many different varieties of
dreams one can have, such as good dreams, nightmares, even sleep paralysis which
means you feel as if someone is choking you in your dream. I did mention the theories
about dreams, but I also mentioned what dreams used to mean to some in the modern
days. I also described the different types of symbols that dreams may symbolize. There is
not a certain correct theory that explains why we have the dreams that we do, which is
why I tried to add the most popular type of theories people mostly believe in.
For example, Stanley Kripper along with his fellow peers wrote about how
dreams go way back even to prehistoric times. Back in the old ages various amounts of
tribes interpreted dreams very differently. For example, according to the Mohave tribe,
dreams were sources of knowledge and messages from the Great Spirit. On a different
note, the Iroqouis Indians saw dreams as wishes of the soul. Then goes off discussing
how Sigmund Freud believed that the symbols that occur in our dreams were often
wishes that the dreamer craved. He explained how Adler believed dreams were symbols
that represented ones life and their current situations. Not to mention, he also discussed

how Jung believed your dreams were to help oneself in their waking lives and suggested
people to take notes and actively use their dreams.
The author of the article, Freuds Dream of Interpretation, Ken Frienden,
mainly focused on Freuds theory, he explained how Freud was inspired to come up with
his own dream theory, what his thought process was while creating his dream theory, etc.
Freud would have secretly acknowledge that his dreams were sexual dreams. Maybe
thats why he believed that our dreams fulfill our wishes. His dream meanings actually
relied on dream images and concealed meanings. In a lot of Freud's lectures he argues
that our dreams arent random, but strictly determined. This article is all about Sigmund
Freuds book called, Freuds Dream of Interpretation. It discusses why he wrote it,
what inspired him, whats it about, and so much more. Because of how in depth his
article was I definitely have decided that I believe he has the correct theory out of all the
others, but thats just my own opinion others may feel different.
For the article, "Sleep Paralysis : Night-mares, Nocebos, and the Mind-body
Connection, the author, Shelley Adler, talked about something that not only had to do
with dreaming, its called Sleep Paralysis. Its when you literally feel paralyzed in your
sleep and cannot move, you feel trapped. Some describe it as feeling wide awake but not
being able to move. They are awake and aware of everything. They also have a feeling of
dread and evil closing down on them and trapping them. Chest pressure may even occur
during sleep paralysis, which is accompanied by difficulty breathing. This normally
occurs when a person is sleeping on their back. Although studies show that most people
do not fall asleep on their backs, majority of dreams mainly occur when sleeping on ones
back. I wonder why? This article is all about sleep paralysis.

The video, Why do we Dream? directed by Steven mackintosh, explains what


REM sleep is, why our dreams occur during the REM sleep cycle and how different are
emotions are while we are woken up during REM sleep and not during REM sleep. In the
article written by William Moorecroft, it shows a figure of the a persons brain movements
when it is sleeping. It shows the difference between brain movements when someone is
dreaming through REM sleep and not dreaming through the REM sleep cycle. In the
article, Dreaming, Barbara Ann Holmes discusses the brief study of dreaming, reviews
the dream research from decades before, talks about how dreams are important to the
Christian faith, and the meaning of dreams in certain rituals. In the article, Personality,
Psychopathological, and Nightmares in Young People , Jan and CJ started off discussing
nightmares and how research has proven that nightmares occur due to experience of
traumatic life events, genetic predisposition or personality factors. Throughout the whole
article it then discusses nightmares and the differences between them as a young child
and as an old adult.
In my own words I do believe there is a certain correct theory as to why we dream
about the things we do. If I had to pick the one theory that I believed was the correct one
it was be Sigmund Freuds theory. He believed that symbols in our dreams were wishful
fulfillments and cravings that were existent in our waking lives. I believe Adler, who
believed dreams had to do with our current life situations, was on the right track as well.
Resources that my researchers used as sources would be credible books and websites. I
definitely feel like their sources are credible because Ive always been the one to be
interested in learning about dreams my whole life and while researching about the
different types of theories and symbols that occurred in dreams they were the same

information that I have learned before while learning about dreams in my younger age.
Ive learned so much while writing and researching about my inquiry paper. Such as why
do we have nightmares, what causes sleep paralysis, what old tribes used to think dreams
meant, and what certain symbols that occur in our dreams can mean.
The findings that I have discovered would be the different theories that are
explaining what is the driving force behind our dreams, I discovered what dreams used to
mean to certain people such as tribes back in the day. And I also learned about nightmares
and sleep paralysis. Given my findings people should really start to think about which
theory they believe is most accurate. I would like to learn a little bit more about
nightmares, I only researched one book on it. I would like to find out how common they
are in peoples dreams. And what makes the brain dream of good or bad things.

Citations

Adler, Shelley. "Sleep Paralysis : Night-mares, Nocebos, and the Mind-body


Connection." (eBook, 2011) [UNC Charlotte Libraries]. Rutgers University Press, 7 Feb.
2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2015
Frienden, Ken. "Freuds Dream of Interpretation." N.p., 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 16 Mar.
2015.
Holmes, Barbara Ann. "Dreaming." Project Muse. Minneapolis : Fortress Press,
2012., 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Krippner, Stanley, Bogzaran, Fariba, De Carvalho, and Andre Percia.
"Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work with Them." (eBook, 2002) [UNC Charlotte
Libraries]. State University of New York Press, 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Moorcroft, William H. "Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey Atkins Library UNC Charlotte." Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey Atkins Library - UNC Charlotte.
NewYork Springer, 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
Why Do We Dream? Dir. Steven Mockintosh. Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey
Atkins Library - UNC Charlotte. Films on Demand, 02 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Roberts, Lennings, Jan, Cj. "Personality, Psychopathological, and Nightmares in
Young People." Science Direct. Elseveir, 18 May 2006. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

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